The wholesalers at Capital Group and First Trust are ahead of the pack when it comes to a key piece of the advisor-support puzzle, at least in the eyes of financial advisors themselves, according to new research from the folks at a Boston-area consulting firm that supports asset managers.

Michael "Mike" Evans Fuse Research Network Partner, Director of Advisor and Benchmark Research

Yesterday, Mike Evans, partner and director of advisor research at Fuse Research Network, unveiled findings from the Needham, Massachusetts-based shop's 2025 Wholesalers: The Advisor View report. Evans specifically highlighted which fund firms' wholesaler teams FAs see as providing the best value-add support.

The findings from a July 2025 survey of nearly 570 advisors, Evans confirms. The Fuse team published the report, with those findings and more, on August 8. (The prior edition of the report was issued last August.)

Evans confirms that the FUSE team asked FAs, "Which ONE wholesaler team you've worked with provides the best value-add experience, including delivery, content quality, material knowledge, follow-up, etc.?" Each FA then filled in a single fund firm's name.

Cap Group (home of American Funds) and First Trust were far ahead of the others, winning in the eyes of 14 percent of FAs and 13 percent of FAs each, respectively. Here are the rest of the top 12 value-add providers:

3) BlackRock, 9 percent;

4) Fidelity and J.P. Morgan, 6 percent each;

6) DFA and Vanguard, 4 percent each;

8) Franklin Templeton and Invesco, 3 percent each; and

10) Morgan Stanley's Eaton Vance, SunLife's MFS, and Russell, 2 percent each.

"Advisors consistently rank economic/market insights as the top value-add topic," Evans tells MFWire via email. "Other topics include tax planning, Social Security best practices, and retirement income distribution." 

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